{"id":107283,"date":"2025-11-10T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=107283"},"modified":"2025-11-09T22:57:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T11:57:42","slug":"canberra-solar-share-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/canberra-solar-share-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Canberra Be Left Behind in the New Solar Share Scheme?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Canberrans hoping for free midday electricity under the new Solar Share scheme will have to wait a little longer. While the initiative promises cheap or even free power for some households, residents of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) are excluded\u2014at least for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s the Solar Share Scheme?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/free-electricity-solar-sharer-scheme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Solar Share scheme<\/a>, part of an ambitious push to make energy more affordable, would allow homeowners with solar panels to share their excess power with neighbors, renters, or others who don\u2019t have solar setups. For those who have solar, it\u2019s a way to make the most of power that would otherwise go to waste. For those without it, it could mean access to cheap midday electricity, potentially cutting their energy bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The idea sounds almost too good to be true: \u201cFree energy\u201d during the brightest hours of the day when solar panels are working at their peak. But there\u2019s a catch\u2014at least in the ACT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Households in NSW, South Australia, SE Qld will get at least 3 hours of power FREE each day under the Federal Labor Government&#39;s new solar share scheme. Even if you don&#39;t have solar panels!<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2GjlDXHw5q\">https:\/\/t.co\/2GjlDXHw5q<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Climate Council (@climatecouncil) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/climatecouncil\/status\/1985471625047769088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">November 3, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Not the ACT?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately for Canberrans, the Solar Share scheme won\u2019t be applied to the ACT right away. The reason comes down to the regulatory framework. While most Australian states are under the jurisdiction of the Australian Energy Regulator (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aer.gov.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AER<\/a>), the ACT operates under its own independent body, the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission (ICRC). This means that ACT residents will need to wait for more detailed assessments before the scheme can be rolled out locally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ACT government has expressed cautious interest in the idea, welcoming the possibility of cheaper power for locals. However, officials say that without more data, they can&#8217;t be sure whether the scheme will work as effectively in the ACT as it might elsewhere. Experts also point out that the ACT has a much higher rate of solar uptake than other parts of the country\u2014about one-third of households already have solar panels, which complicates the logistics of sharing excess power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s Next for Canberrans?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the ACT government is keen on exploring the idea, there\u2019s no clear timeline for when Canberrans might get access to the Solar Share scheme. Meanwhile, residents of states covered by the AER may see it roll out sooner. Whether the scheme will eventually come to the ACT largely depends on the ability to navigate the local regulatory environment and account for the unique electricity market here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, Canberrans can still enjoy the benefits of the city\u2019s high solar uptake, but they\u2019ll need to wait a bit longer for the kind of free power that others might soon enjoy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Will Canberra be included in the new Solar Share scheme? Regulatory differences raise questions about whether the city will benefit from this initiative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":107284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107283"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107285,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107283\/revisions\/107285"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}